Hands-on: Droid Razr M for Verizon

While it may seem like all the spotlight from the Motorola event is being pointed at the larger versions of the new Razr family, there’s still plenty to be said about the Razr M (or Razr Mini as it has been referred to by several Motorola employees at today’s event). The Razr M is on its way to consumers next week, and be it in white or black promises to offer way more than anything else being sold for $99.

The hardware for the Razr M stands out a bit from the Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD. The industrial design, complete with screws along the sides of the device, offer a completely different look to the phone. The phone is made of a series of sharp angles and offers a plastic pull out hinge for the SIM and microSD card slot instead of a removable aluminum tray. This Razr is missing the MicroHDMI slot, which is historically found nestled right next to the microUSB port.

While the 4.3-inch display is notably smaller than the other two devices in today’s announcement, the phone is not found to be lacking in any other respect. The same Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5Ghz with 1GB of RAM lay within the chassis of this phone. It’s 2000 mAh battery may not hold a candle to the ridiculous 3300mAh found inside the Razr Maxx HD, but still offers marginally more battery life than its competition.

When running Android 4.1, the Razr M really flies. The Motorola Experience is complimented nicely by the performance found in the 4.1 “project butter enhancements. While the phone will be released with Android 4.0 initially, we’ve been told to expect and update “soon” that will bring the device up to par with the display usits being shown off today. The Motorola Experience is still not quite stock Android, but offers some really interesting features to compliment Android. The phone starts off with a single homescreen and allows you to add more on later, and the left most swipe on the screen reveals a quick launch feature for key settings like WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Motorola and Verizon really surprised everyone by offering the device for pre-order starting today and for sale next week. For a $99 phone, Motorola is making a bold move by slipping this phone in right before Apple takes to the stage with their next device. Rapid release, low price and a decent phone make a killer combination that will likely lead to Motorola being able to announce this device as a success quickly.